Israel - Over 60 Gazan Rockets Fired At South, 19 Intercepted

A house in Timorim was hit by a rocket and the property tax workers arrive to estimate the damages. Nov 19 2012. Photo by Yossi Zeliger/Flash90

Israel - Eight rockets were fired at Ashkelon from Gaza on Monday afternoon, police said. Two of the rockets hit the city, one hitting a house directly and the other hitting a yard. No injuries were reported, but three people were treated for shock, Magen David Adom paramedics said.

The Iron Dome system intercepted over at least 19 rockets fired into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip Monday. Over 60 rockets struck Ashkelon, Ashdod, Beersheba, Sderot and other areas of the South, but caused no injuries.

A rocket fired by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip hit a school parking lot in Ashkelon on Monday morning, causing damage to a building but no injuries.

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The Iron Dome rocket-defense system intercepted seven rockets fired at Ashkelon and Ashdod and another launched toward Beersheba. One rocket exploded in an open field outside of Beersheba.

Earlier Monday, rockets landed in open fields outside Eshkol and Sha’ar Hanegev, causing no injuries or damage, Army Radio reported.

Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least ten civilians and two Islamic Jihad field commanders overnight Sunday, Palestinian sources reported. One of the strikes hit a police station in Gaza City. The IDF also hit over 80 targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Sunday, including rocket launchers, tunnels, training camps, weapons caches and terror cells that fired on Israel in recent days, bringing the total of targets to 1,350 since the start of Operation Pillar of Defense on Wednesday.

The morning rocket was the first since a house near Kiryat Malachi was struck late on Sunday evening. No injuries were reported in that attack, but the rocket caused damage to the house in a direct hit.

A witness on the scene, Gal Goldberg, 17, described hearing a powerful blast as the rocket landed on the home next door to his own.

“When we heard the siren we entered a safe room, the blast shook the walls, we went outside and saw people running towards the house that was hit. We saw widespread wreckage,” Goldberg said.

The residents of the house had taken cover in the safe room.

Goldberg added that the IDF must continue their operation in Gaza.

Hamas fired its most intense rocket salvos yet on southern Israel on Sunday, as it and other terrorist factions launched 120 rockets into Israel Sunday, including two Fajr-5 missiles at Tel Aviv on Sunday evening. Both were intercepted over the Dan region.

Palestinian sources reported a wave of IAF strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night. According to the unconfirmed reports, missiles were fired near the home in central Gaza of Hamas senior operative Marwan Issa, who has been named as the successor to military head Ahmad Jabari, killed in an air force strike on Wednesday.

The city was also targeted on Sunday morning, triggering the Iron Dome battery. A piece of shrapnel from a destroyed enemy projectile set a car in Holon on fire. The driver, an older man, tried to put out the fire, then removed items from the trunk before escaping as the vehicle was engulfed in flames.

Seventy-six rockets exploded during the course of the day in southern Israel, with Ashdod coming under its heaviest barrage yet by seven Grad rockets. Six were intercepted and one smashed into a residential building, wounding two residents lightly. The Iron Dome intercepted 38 rockets heading for built-up areas on Sunday.

Soon after the Ashdod grad salvo on Sunday afternoon, the IDF targeted the home of the head of Hamas’s rocket program, Yahiya Abiya.

Army sources said Abiya was directly responsible for the majority of the rockets that have been fired at Israel. It was unclear whether Abiya was hurt.

Palestinian medical sources said 11 people died in the bombing of the three-story building.

Reuters reported that the number of Palestinian dead since the current round of violence began last Wednesday afternoon rose to at least 85 on Monday, with hundreds wounded.

Ashkelon came under heavy rocket attack on Sunday morning, with four rockets scoring direct hits. Terrified residents sought cover as rockets hit apartment buildings. Two people were lightly wounded.

A Palestinian rocket seriously injured a man in the Sha’ar Hanegev region. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital.

Five civilians traveling in a vehicle in Ofakim were injured – one seriously – by shrapnel from a rocket.

On Sunday night, after a few hours of relative calm, the Code Red siren sounded once more in Ashdod, Hof Ashkelon, Kiryat Malachi and other cities in the South.

He added that in light of the heightened intensity of the salvos, it is especially important that people take cover immediately when the rocket warning siren sounds, and stay put until several seconds after the alarm is over.

Magen David Adom said its paramedics treated 40 wounded people on Sunday, including seven people hurt by shrapnel.

MDA also treated 31 people suffering from shock, including six in Tel Aviv following rocket fire toward the city.

“Hamas is using the Palestinian population as a human shield. We have released footage of rocket fire from a mosque courtyard, prayer houses, public places and homes,” Mordechai added. “Many of their rockets are falling inside the Gaza Strip.”

The IDF has hit more than 1,200 terrorist targets in Gaza since the beginning of the operation.

The army has completed preparations for a ground offensive, as it masses growing forces at the border with Gaza. Training for such an offensive is complete.

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Nov 19, 2012 at 08:27 AMUpset Says:

The complacent international media is focusing on Palistianian suffering and causualties with great detail as usual and only briefly mentioning Israeli suffering. This slanted reporting gives the impression that the Palistinians are the victums and the Jews are the aggressors. It is the this type of reporting that has always prevented Israel from being able to take the proper actions to defend itself. Every reporter has Jewish blood on their hands and they help in the murdering our people. I wonder if there is anything we can do to neutralize the impact of the international media and demand fair reporting or at least expose the media for what they are doing. Does anyone have any ideas about how this could be accomplished?

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Nov 19, 2012 at 08:54 AMpushkin Says:

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Nov 19, 2012 at 09:12 AMYYYguy Says:

Solution is simple. Hamas stops launching rockets into Israel. Israel stops bombing Gaza, A child can understand this. The problem is that Hamas doesn't care about it's own as long as they can kill Israelis. The more people in Gaza are killed the prouder they are.

Nov 19, 2012 at 09:45 AMgitgezogt Says:

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Nov 19, 2012 at 10:03 AMFinVeeNemtMenSeichel Says:

listen mustafa, hell is the place thats reserved for murderers like you and your ilk. yes you are "blind" with the nonsensical hogwash you were raised with, including your religion and hatred. so enjoy life with your goat and remember, an ocean of fire awaits you when youre finally on the receiving end of a missile. Allah hu akbar.

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Nov 19, 2012 at 11:35 AMbenpassaic Says:

"Urban Dictionary: ovaiswww.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ovaisArabic word, literally meaning 'arabian.' also used to describe a very helpful or nice person (not). Can also be used to call some one an angel." An angel indeed.....angel of death!!